In 1977 a blockbuster movie came out about World War II called a Bridge Too Far. It had a long cast of famous actors and depicted the actions around one of the most disastrous battles during the war The operation was called Operation Market Garden and on paper it seemed like a good idea. The war was winding down by September 1944 (it was over in 1945) and the allies controlled the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. In seem like a good idea to jump ahead, control the bridges over the rivers in the Netherlands (Holland) and put a end to the war quickly. It seemed like a good idea, confidence was high and the thought was the area in question was not highly defended. It turned out, by accident or luck the Germans had moved a highly skilled tank unit into the area, the allied commanders dismissed the warnings and had a great desire to go ahead with the plans did not put those considerations into the plans. Some bridges were taken but the main bridge was not, which meant because there was one road leading to the bridge, the allied troops could not go over the bridge and after many lives were lost, the allies retreated.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the combination of overconfidence and not estimating the moves of the competition is a deadly one In battle, it leads to people dying; in economics it leads to loss of market share or no return on your investment. Confidence is a great thing – companies and people gain it over time and believe what they are doing is good and can lead to even better results Under estimating your competition is a death nail, particularly now when companies are so nimble. There is more competition because the barriers or ability to compete are continually falling. If the management of the companies you own underestimates the competition they will be out of their seats in a short time and you will be changing companies

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.